Black Bear & Imogene Passes
BusaDave9
Always Off-Roading Jeeper
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- 1979 Jeep CJ5 with 304 V8, T18 Transmission, Dana 20 Transfer case with TeraLow 3:1 gears, 4.88 axle gears, Detroit Locker up front and Ox Locker in back with 1 piece axle shafts, 36" SuperSwamper SX Tires, Shackle reversal, MileMarker Hydraulic winch, MSD 6A ignition.
This weekend I went over the infamous Black Bear and Imogene Passes. Any off road enthusiast that comes to SW Colorado has to check out these two trails. They are both more difficult than the Alpine Loop. Although Black Bear is rated as a very difficult trail it really doesn’t have very difficult obstacles. The reason it is rated so difficult is if you go off the trail you die. This trail goes down a 3000 foot cliff and many people have fallen 1000 feet to their death after slipping off the trail.
I headed an hour north of my home in Durango Colorado. Between Silverton and Ouray I pulled off highway 550 at Red Mountain pass. At over 11,000 feet elevation Red Mountain Pass is the 9th highest paved mountain pass in the US but I still have 2000 feet of climbing to do. By the way, I have my carb adjusted for 1000 feet above the elevation of my home. When I take my jeep out I almost always head up.
Although there are some difficult obstacles they all have bypasses.
Black Bear Pass is one of the highest off-road trails in the US. Most of the trail is one way into the town of Telluride. This is because the trail is so narrow.
As you start to descend you follow a stream. Here the trail can be off-camber and rough. A month ago a Toyota rolled off the trail here. The dropoff is only 30 feet here so his injuries were minor.
Now we start the descent. This is more or less a cliff so they can't really widen the trail.
Here is a shot I took last year. The closest tree is more than 1000 feet below my jeep.
Here it's nice to have a manual Transmission . Try to use compression braking to slow you down. You get much better control than if you use the brakes. These switchbacks require all drivers to maneuver back and forth to get turned around. I have a CJ5 and still there were very few of these switchbacks that I could just make one turn to make it around. Here is the drivers view on one of these switchbacks. I have to turn to the left. You can see my nose is pointed down. Gravity wants me to plummet over this edge. I back up and continue on.
Half way down there is an old power plant perched on the cliff. It is now a private summer home. Down lower the trail widens up and is once again two way.
The bottom of Black Bear trail ends in Telluride. Below is a view of the trail. It starts to the left of this mountain. If you look closely you can see the trail zig zag down the cliff.
Once in Telluride I need a way back home and since Black Bear is one way I decide to take Imogene Pass to Ouray Colorado. The road over Imogene pass comes out of Telluride from Oak Street. But Oak Street does not intersect the main street (Colorado Ave.). The town of Telluride has blocked off Oak Street and it is no longer a through street. To find it you have to take Aspen St. or Fir St. and them loop back to Oak St. There are no signs to the way to Imogene pass. If you think the town of Telluride has gone out of their way to make it difficult for off-roaders to find these mountain trails you are exactly right. Telluride is a town of high class skiers. While they like tourist coming to their shops they don't want dirty, uncivilized off-roaders rumbling through their town. On the other hand the towns of Silverton and Ouray have gone out of their way to attract four wheelers. There you will find many signs, maps, shops and even a Public Lands Office that is geared specifically to four wheelers and the mountain trails.
The beginning of Imogene Pass Road is a very narrow residential street. You may have to pull into a driveway to let a resident pass. It climbs steeply. Looking around you realize Telluride is in the end of a box canyon. It is easy to reach from the east but from the west it is a hellacious ride, even on horseback. As a mater of fact that is where the name Telluride comes from. The founders named it because it means “To Hell You Ride”.
The trail rides along a ledge but it's not as dangerous as Black Bear.
Here is what is called the Bullion Tunnel. It is named because, up ahead, on this road is Tomboy Mine. At the turn of the century it was a gold and silver mine and a town with a school and daily stagecoach rides back to Telluride yet it was above the tree-line at 11,000 feet. This trail out of Telluride is very narrow and hard to pass. During the tourist season it slow going and a pain trying to pass. I recommend you go late in the year to avoid the crowd. In late September or early October the weather is unpredictable but at 13,000 feet that is true at any time of the year. I took the following picture last year on June 13th at Tomboy Mine.
When I was there yesterday a sweater or light jacket was fine.
Here is Imogene Pass
On the way down from Imogene pass I saw a red fox. He was well above the tree line looking for food.
I headed an hour north of my home in Durango Colorado. Between Silverton and Ouray I pulled off highway 550 at Red Mountain pass. At over 11,000 feet elevation Red Mountain Pass is the 9th highest paved mountain pass in the US but I still have 2000 feet of climbing to do. By the way, I have my carb adjusted for 1000 feet above the elevation of my home. When I take my jeep out I almost always head up.
Here is a shot I took last year. The closest tree is more than 1000 feet below my jeep.
The beginning of Imogene Pass Road is a very narrow residential street. You may have to pull into a driveway to let a resident pass. It climbs steeply. Looking around you realize Telluride is in the end of a box canyon. It is easy to reach from the east but from the west it is a hellacious ride, even on horseback. As a mater of fact that is where the name Telluride comes from. The founders named it because it means “To Hell You Ride”.
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i ain't doin it no way in hell
